Andrew Marr, a Benedictine monk, has written a review of The Nonviolent Messiah on his blog, Imaginary Visions of True Peace:
"Simon Joseph’s book The Nonviolent Messiah is another helpful study on the question of whether
or not Jesus truly preached peace . . . Joseph uses examination of the Q document and the Adamic
model of the Messiah in Enochic literature to argue that the historical Jesus
consistently preached peace . . . Joseph builds a
case that Jesus preached nonviolence and a violent eschatology was added later
by the Q community.
The lesser known Enochic literature is examined for a
lesser-known element: the Adamic model that emerged in some of this literature
in contradistinction to the Davidic Messiah who would be a political and
military figure. The Adamic model posits the hope of a renewed creation that
would involve all people and would be achieved by totally peaceful means. The
Animal Apocalypse, so-called because animals signify the figures, is a
particularly strong example of this. We can easily see the influence of this
model on Paul’s use of the New Adam in his epistles. Joseph provides much
evidence to suggest that this Adamic model, which was very well-known at all
levels of Jewish society in Jesus’ time, strongly influenced Jesus’
self-understanding of the kind of Messiah he was . . .
Although a meticulous examination, the book is readable and is an important contribution to the investigations on Jesus’ attitude to peace and violence."
Although a meticulous examination, the book is readable and is an important contribution to the investigations on Jesus’ attitude to peace and violence."